Chocolate Bunnies Are Fine But That Is Not Easter

Easter gets packaged as candy, brunch, and a spring holiday, but we can’t get around the central claim: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We lay it out plainly: Christianity hinges on whether Jesus truly died, was buried, and rose again. If that didn’t happen, faith is empty and we’re still in our sins. If it did happen, it changes everything about forgiveness, hope, and what it means to follow Christ.

Pastor Joey and Pastor Richard walk through 1 Corinthians 15 as the clearest summary of the gospel and the strongest reminder of what matters most. We talk about why you can’t celebrate Resurrection Sunday while avoiding Good Friday, why “resurrection” without death and burial makes no sense, and why the cross and the shedding of blood are not a grim obsession but the necessary answer to real sin. We also push back on the idea that the resurrection is only symbolism, pointing to the biblical claims of a bodily resurrection, physical appearances, and Jesus eating with His disciples.

Then we get into evidence and credibility. Paul points to eyewitness testimony and even “over 500 at once,” and we mention historical voices outside the Bible like Josephus and Tacitus that acknowledge key facts around Jesus and the explosive spread of early Christianity. We also address common counterclaims like the stolen-body story and why it falls apart under scrutiny.

If you’ve been curious, skeptical, or you want the conviction you hear in this conversation, we also give a simple prayer to receive Christ and encourage you to reach out so we can help you take the next step. Subscribe, share this with a friend, leave a review, and tell us: what’s the biggest question you still have about the resurrection?

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Transcript

The Gospel Priority Explained

SPEAKER_02 0:00

He said, For I delivered you first of all, priority, that which I also receive. That Christ died, he was buried, and he rose again. And so when we're talking about the resurrection, it serves as a testimony of the gospel. It is, it is the priority of the gospel. And so when we talk about how important that is, and we talk about the priority of the gospel, we talk about the priority of the resurrection. And if if you fail to hold that priority and you allow anyone to shake your faith in that, then you're literally eroding what it means to be a Christian.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

The reality is.

SPEAKER_01 1:48

But today I'm turning it over to you so that you can you can just share the excitement about Easter. Because I I know secular people that go, I don't understand, I don't understand what you're so excited about. Like, like, okay, Easter is Easter. No, Easter is not Easter. There's a bigger deal than that.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

Well, as with with Christmas, the the world has found a way to commercialize Easter. Okay. Never understood bunnies and eggs, but uh somehow or another they've they they found a way to commercialize it. And you know, uh when you stop and you realize though that Easter is the hinge of the Chris Christian faith. If if you take Easter out, you literally have no Christian faith. All right. It is the when we celebrate the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, there are other world religions. Sometimes you'll hear a Christian say, well, there's no other world religion. Yeah, there are other world religions that claim their leader died and came back to life. The difference is no one believes that because there was no documentation of it. There was no no no proof of it. And yet we look at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we're going to get into that as we go. That there's there's both religious evidence and there's secular evidence that it existed. Now, the the secular evidence doesn't look at it in the Christian aspect, but they certainly acknowledge that something went on.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

Exactly, period. Like they see it, they see the truth of it, they see the reality of it. They don't call it religion or Christianity, but they say, here's an event that took place, and this is fact.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

Yeah, when and when you stop and you think about that, on Easter, we celebrate the the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay. We call it Resurrection Sunday. We we think about how important that is. And so when when we think about what that looks like, uh I just let's just talk about some highlights, if you will. Yeah. And first, you you can't talk about Easter without talking about the resurrection. You have to. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

In fact, like you say, like at most of the churches, in fact, every church I have been to, I've never heard anybody get up and say happy Easter. I always hear Happy Resurrection Day. Right. Because that's the key.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Well, sadly, there's probably churches somewhere that say happy Easter Day.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

I get that. I get that. I'm saying for me. Just church you wouldn't be in.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

But no, it it is because it it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Listen, Christianity hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If if Christ is not risen, listen, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 17, the apostle Paul worded it this way: if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, thank you, and you're still in your sins. Amen. Okay. That's sad. That's a sad news paper. It is. And so either there is a resurrection, and and with the resurrection comes the forgiveness of sin, or there's not a resurrection and we're chasing a hoax and we're still in our sin, but there is no middle ground.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Absolutely. And that's the beauty of it all, because that's where our forgiveness comes from. That's where our power comes from. And because of that, and because he resurrected, and because he now sits at the right hand of the Father, we have a helper who gets to dwell inside of us. Like this is key to everything that's exciting about who we are as Christians.

No Middle Ground On Resurrection

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Exactly. And you know, the gospel is either true or it's not. And there is absolutely no middle ground. I was sitting in a hospital room one night with a family member that was getting ready to go off into eternity, sitting with another man that uh was supposed to be an evangelical pastor as I was, and in the course of the conversation, somehow or another, it wasn't Easter, but somehow or another, the course of the idea of the death, the burial, the resurrection came up. And and I'll never forget this man looked at me and he says, Well, I think guys like you put way too much emphasis on things like, and here was his statement, things like the virgin birth and things like the resurrection. And I and I looked at this guy and and I mean there was some thought about chunking him out the window, but I I held off too. But I look at this guy and I'm like, what are you saying? Yeah, what do you mean? And so I asked him, I said, so if you remove the virgin birth and you remove the resurrection, I said, what you have is a fallen human that was martyred because he did some good stuff. And and the guy said, Well, you're you're just you're just trying to put too much. Listen, if Christ is not risen, you are still in your sins. Typical fact. And and so when you have people out there trying to reconcile that, I'll never forget I was sharing my faith one day with again a family member, and my wife and I were talking to this lady and and we were sharing with her about our faith and who Christ is. And I'll never forget the lady looked at me and she said, I don't want anything to do with a bloody faith. And and so I said, Explain that to me. And so in the course of that, somebody had really taken her off on a dark path, you know. And I said, Absolutely, blood was shed. It was the death, the burial, the perfect sacrifice. And so we had an opportunity to speak into that. Yeah, but this is where the world's at, Joey. They they they want to do away with the death, the burial, the resurrection, the perfect sacrifice, the one that literally was born to die. And they they want to get away from that.

SPEAKER_01 7:36

But it's the blood that we need, and it's the precious blood that that atones for everything that we have been in our sins. Before coming to Christ, before recognizing who Christ was, we were dead in our sins. It is that blood, that precious blood that was shed, that was sacrificed for us, that gives us the power to live. Like even here on this earth, yes, we will live in eternity forever with Jesus. Well, yes, but even on this earth, we get to live because of that shed blood.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Well, we're we're reconciled together through his death, and and then we have life through his resurrection. Yeah. Right? And and it's the same as when we baptize. We we we put them under the water, we're burying them with Christ, we bring them out of the water, we're resurrecting them with Christ. Yeah. Everything about the Christian faith hinges on the resurrection. Amen. Now, sadly, there will be very I don't even I don't even know the right word to use for that. Let's just say very liberal uh people that would profess some form of Christianity, and they'll talk about resurrection. And this is what's going to amaze me. They'll talk about resurrection on Easter, but they'll never mention death burial. Yeah. Okay. And so they're resurrecting one that they never even talk about die.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

What are you resurrected if you haven't died? Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

And so the Bible is why Friday's good, though.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Exactly. Like, you know, yeah, it's a miserable thing. But the whole reason for the death, because that death was taking our place, because that's what we deserve. We deserve death because of our sins. The death took place. We have to get there. We have to recognize that. But we get to celebrate the resurrection because he didn't stay dead. He rose and now lives inside of us. That's the power that lives inside of us.

Bodily Resurrection Not Symbolism

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Well, as you stop and you you look at the whole story and you look at exactly what took place there, it it's we have no power, right? But this this idea of denying the resurrection is not new. You you go all the way back literally to the cross, and the only ones who really believed that the Lord when he said, I will rise again, were the Pharisees. You know? True.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

Everybody else went hiding, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:03

They're the ones that they wanted guards on the tomb. Now they argued that, you know what, when they steal his body, then but they heard him when he said, I will rise again. And and listen, man, it everything else he said came true. Why wouldn't that work? Yeah, we we need to we need to lock this thing down. Absolutely. And that didn't hold it. Yeah. Nothing couldn't. The the resurrection. And and when the ladies came to the tomb and they the angel was there, they heard the words. He is not here, he is risen as he said. Now, as as has been said, if he is not risen from the dead, when you talk about Christ, he he is either a liar, a lunatic, or he's Lord. And there's no middle ground. He's a liar if he's not Christ, if he's not the Son of God, if he's not risen from the dead, because that's what he said. He's a lunatic to believe those things about himself, or he's Lord of all. And and you know what? We go with Lord. And we'll go with Lord. So the resurrection is absolutely essential. It is bedrock to the Christian faith. And it's, you know, sometimes I hear people say, well, it's just a blind faith. No, it's not. It's it's the Spirit of God in me, confirming God's word, the truth that he gave, that he said, that he assured us this is what's going to happen.

SPEAKER_01 11:32

Exactly. I I and when people say that for me, there's nothing blind about it. Right. Because you can see it clearly if you open your eyes and look. The only reason you're blind is because you're choosing to close your eyes and want nothing to do with the truth and the reality.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

Yeah, and and so people will actually make the argument that uh the resurrection is symbolic or imagery, that he was resurrected in spirit. But you know, the the problem of that is is he sat and ate with the disciples. And and and so spirits don't eat. So we have a real problem here. And so as as we stop and we understand the importance of what he tells us, he physically rose from the dead. He even said uh to Thomas, look, look at my hands.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Look at the touchdown.

SPEAKER_02 12:16

So do it. Bodily resurrection, right? Yeah, real body. And so real body, real body, and and we're there. So the resurrection, our first thing, we want people as we come into Easter, do not surrender anything on the resurrection. It is who we are. Without it, we're just another world religion that has a dead Savior that we hope someday, and that's not where we're at. That's we're celebrating right there. Exactly. Love that. Love that. And that brings us to the idea that the resurrection is what validates the identity of Christ.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Very true.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Right? So if now we talked about the reality of the resurrection, but it's the validation of the resurrection. And and and if you take the resurrection out again, who is he? Just a man who died for doing good things. Another martyr.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah. Who's a martyr?

SPEAKER_02 13:08

We we can go back through history and we can see religious leaders of cults and false religions that were martyred for their faith and for their belief.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

But they're not saviors, they're martyrs. And we can even look at good Christian men and women that have died for their faith. But they're not saviors, they're martyrs because they died and one day will be resurrected, as he tells us. But the resurrection validated the identity of Christ.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Amen. I I love that. And and all the disciples who were walking with him until the resurrection happened, like you said, they were hiding. Like they didn't believe it. They were like, oh no, our Savior is dead. But it was validated because he showed up and they were there. The ladies who went to the tomb saw all this was validated. Like this really happened. Here is the Savior of the world now appearing to them in bodily form, as you said before, validating who he is. In fact, validating what all the scriptures said about him up until that point. Because the scripture said this is what's going to happen. And he fulfilled all of them.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

And they hated that. And so they kept pushing him. And they said, Well, what's your proof? And he said, Well, just as Jonah was in the belly of a whale three days and three nights, guess what? He said, The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

And he too will come forth, right? And so when we understand that, it validated.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

If you go back and you look through the Gospels, on three different occasions, Christ said, I'm going to Jerusalem, I'm going to die, I'm going to resurrect. Exactly. And it validates who he is.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

Yeah. I love that. Because without it, we have nothing. And that's why I love the validation of the scriptures. Because we didn't have the New Testament back then. So all the scriptures that these people were reading, and here he is, fulfilling all of them, validating everything he said, truth of what he's saying, coming and happening right in front of you. Like what other validation do you have? It's right there.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Well, the the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 literally is writing a defense of the resurrection. And he says this in verse 13 in chapter 15. He said, But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. So he's saying, All right, if you're going to argue your point, then Christ is not risen. And then he says, now here's the implication. If Christ is not risen, our preaching is empty, your faith is empty. Okay. So you're going to say the resurrection isn't important. Listen to what he's saying. The resurrection is validating who Christ is. He goes on to say, yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we've testified that God raised up Christ, who he did not raise up if the dead do not rise. And if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And then he comes back with your faith is futile and you're still in your sins. But in verse 20, in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 20, I love this. He said, But now Christ is risen. All right. So he's validating. He's saying, okay, here's all the problems you've got with your theology.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:44

But here's the reality.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Christ is risen. And and hundreds of people saw him. Oh. Right? Right. Let's not just say, oh, and he only showed himself to the eleven. Right. And the and the disciples. No, no, no, no, no, no. He hundreds. Well, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

He he said, you know, the Paul words it this way. He said, as as I look at this, he said he was seen by Cephas, then he was seen by the 12. Then he was seen by over 500 at once. 500.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

At the same time.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

Right. You know, and uh listen, I as as you know, being a former law enforcement officer, I I would have loved to have been able to carry 500 witnesses into court. Just to say, yeah. You know? We're validating this. Exactly. And how in the world, and and so uh I for those that would say, well, that's that's in the Bible, and of course that's what you hold on to. Well, there's a number of sources outside of that. I could list dozens of them, but there's ancient sources, including Roman, Jewish, early Christian, non-canical text, and and that hold to this. A couple of those. Uh Josephus. Yeah. All right. He's the antiquities of the Jews. He reports that the Jesus followers reported that he appeared to them. Now, he doesn't agree or disagree, but as a historian, he says, guess what?

SPEAKER_03 18:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

This report's everywhere. It it's it's it's going throughout the area, and he never disputes the fact that there was a resurrection.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

And as you said, there's dozens of historical writings like that. People have come and said, Okay, we don't believe so and I'm talking non-Christians. We're talking non-Christians who are writing historical fact about what happened, and they have to say we dug into this, we've researched this, and and this is true. This is what we have found to be true. Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:42

The historian, a Roman historian, Tacitus, he he wrote these words. He said, confirming as a historian that indeed a man called Jesus of Nazareth was indeed executed, crucified under Pilate. He said, then a superstition, Christianity, broke out, implying belief in his resurrection. And then he begins to talk about the phenomenal spread and growth of that.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:11

All right. Listen, you you can't even get away from it in secular. Then you, of course, you look at the biblical evidence. John chapter 11, verse 25, before he went to the cross, Christ said, I am the resurrection and the life. Yeah. Okay. He made it clear what he was. And so the validation, he could not be the resurrection and the life if he never resurrected.

SPEAKER_01 19:35

Amen. Amen. And and even in the Bible, it it says, hey, because it's spreading, it's spreading like crazy. And they're trying to stop it. And one of them says, Look, if this is real, and if God is behind this, there's nothing we can do about this. Right. But if it's not, just like all the other ones, it'll fade off and it'll stop. It's been spreading for 2,000 plus years.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

It's real. It's real. Well, when you break it down, you you take Christ with his twelve. The 12 he sent out. Then he sent out 70. By the time we get to the upper room after the resurrection, we have 120 gathered in the upper room. First day of Pentecost, we have over 3,000. Literally weeks later, we have over 5,000. And then within a month, the the Romans are angry because they said, You have filled Jerusalem with this.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

All right. Look, that's Christian history. That's also secular history of how rapidly I was I was reading an article the other day and and it it by Chuck Colson, which went to prison for Watergate. Okay. He said, okay, there were 12 men, counting himself, that knew the the the way they put the lie of Watergate together. Okay. Now he said these were 12 reputable men highly educated that put the lie together that we call Watergate. Okay. And he said, 12 men couldn't even hold a lie.

unknown 21:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

They started counter counteracting one another and contradicting one another. And so the lie collapsed. He said, 12 men couldn't hold a lie. He said, How in the world do you think thousands of people over all these years held a lie like that?

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Thank you. That's a good point.

SPEAKER_02 21:29

Oh, absolutely. I read that and I said, you know, that that is awesome. Good point. Right? I bet I bet the church hears that story. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you know, when you if Christ is not risen, then he's not validated. And so we have to understand that. Yeah. I think another thing is the resurrection. We've said this, and it's just to reemphasize it's foundational to the Christian faith. Uh it it is is who we are.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

Christ. Christian, follower of Christ, who resurrected, died, three days later, rose again, and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Period. Like that's our foundational faith right there.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

If you go back and you look at the the foundations of the Christian faith, I mean, Joey, they're they're unchanged for thousands of years. Exactly. Okay, yeah, there's been some there's been some nut jobs come on the scene, and and they've tried to create what wasn't there, but the essence of the Christian faith has been unchanged for thousands of years. It's foundational to who we are. And and when you go and you look at that and you look at every other world religion and you look at all the changes that have taken place inside their religions, and and you look at, well, okay, now we know that what he said is a lie, so we have to find a way to make his lie not a lie, and and we create documents that don't exist, and on and on we go. But yet we have thousands and thousands and thousands of manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts that validate the Christian faith. Absolutely. And no other world religion can argue that or boast that. And so when we look at that and we understand how important it is, then the world's left with nothing. And now if if the world had any legitimate evidence that they could put up against Christianity, don't you think they would have done it?

SPEAKER_01 23:33

And they would have shut it down by now. It would be there, right? They would have shut this whole thing down by now.

Stolen Body Claims And Martyr Evidence

SPEAKER_02 23:39

They would have done everything they could to shut it down. If Rome could have come up with legitimate information to shut down the resurrection in those early days of the resurrection. We know that Matthew was appointed, and so we're back to 12. Out of that, now it's extra biblical evidence. 11 of the 12 followers of Christ, John died of old age, the best we we can put piece together. The other 11 were martyred for their faith. Now, if these dudes stole the body, and all they had to do was tell the truth. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 24:24

No, bro, you ain't you're not sawing me in half. Let me tell you, I he over there. Exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

That ain't happening. But when you when you look at all the people that were martyred in those early days, we're not talking about today, which is just as valid, but in those early days where if it was a lie, we're about to stamp this out right now. We're gonna be done with it. And you if my life can be saved because I can produce a body, all Rome would have had to have done was produce a body. Uh-huh. And they couldn't. Couldn't do it. And not there. And then to argue that he was stolen, okay, this this is the most foolish thing in the world. To argue that he was stolen, these were these were temple uh or I'm sorry, palace guards that were sent down to guard a dead body. I can imagine how they felt.

SPEAKER_01 25:13

Especially you in this episode. Okay, Richard, we have a task for you. Yeah, it's the We want you to sit at that grief.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

The most elite this this would have been this would have been our special forces of the day, man. These were the most elite, right? And and they're sent to guard a dead body. Yeah. All right. And so we're supposed to believe that the most elite guards on earth all went to sleep while they came in and stole the body and slept so strongly that listen, yeah, the foolishness of that argument was was smoked through the first day it came out, and and it continues to be the most nonsensical thing you can think about. And so it is foundational. And to show you how foundational it is, the foolish lies of the argument of guards went to sleep and and his body was stolen, and the this kind of foolishness, because they know how foundational it is, and they can't get rid of it.

SPEAKER_01 26:15

Because there is no right. I mean, even a guy, Paul Saul, who was out trying to kill people who were saying these things and then recognized the truth himself, also died for it. Exactly. Because he recognized the reality of what was happening.

Salvation, The Plan, And Good News

SPEAKER_02 26:30

Well, when you understand that, it it is so important. It also reminds us of our salvation.

unknown 26:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

That's key. And so key. Because if if if the resurrection is true and it is, then I have salvation. If it's not true, I don't have salvation. We we've we've talked about that a couple of times. And so so when I think about resurrection Sunday and I and I think about Easter, I lead into Easter week and I think about all that Christ suffered and went through and did for me. I think about the death, the burial, the resurrection, I think about the ascension to the right hand of the Father. I I think about all of these things, then I understand that is the bedrock of my salvation. And minus that, I have no salvation.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Amen. Amen. I I love that because he did it for everybody. Exactly. This is what this is our salvation hangs on the fact that Jesus did this for us. And we have to even back it up that this was a plan. Right. This was a plan from the beginning. It says, look, I I've I've got these people who I love so much. And because we love them and they're separated from us, we have to come up with a plan to bring them to us. Got it. Got it. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna die for them, and then I'm gonna come back. I'm gonna raise up and come back and be here with the Father.

SPEAKER_02 27:52

And according to scripture, that was before the foundation of the world.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

That's what I'm saying. Like this was a plan. Exactly. It wasn't now what? Thank you. That's what I think people start going, oh, oh no, this happened. And they said, Oh, well, we're gonna have to do that.

SPEAKER_02 28:06

No, no. This is all part of the plan. When when I look at that, and then I I look at the plan, just as you said from the beginning, and then I look at Romans 5.8, and that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you.

SPEAKER_00 28:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 28:22

And so when I look at what he did for me and I look at the price he paid, and I understand how important that is, it is foundational. It is the anchor. If I remove that, then I'm back to works-based salvation. So if I can work to get it, guess what? I I can fail to work to keep it. And it's as simple as that. And so when we're gonna argue that I've worked my way into it, it collapses all the way around.

SPEAKER_01 28:50

Yeah. I love that. And that's where we are so thankful for the salvation of what Jesus has done for us.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Like come on. And you know, and and then finally, just the resurrection serves as a testimony to the gospel. First Corinthians chapter 15. And if someone's listening and they're struggling with how this all fits together, I would encourage them just to read 1 Corinthians 15 and understand the the gospel, the death, the burial, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And so when we look at what's happening and and we see how this is going on, 1 Corinthians would have been written somewhere around 15 to 20 years after the resurrection of Christ. And even at that point, Easter was not necessarily called Easter then. Okay. Um but Paul reminded them that bedrock of their faith. All right. He he worded it this way in 1 Corinthians 15. He said, Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you. Now that word declare is is absolutely so important because that is a a word that goes beyond just I'm telling you. It is it is that that reminder, that that, that shock, if you will, to hear what he's saying. And he breaks it down in several one ways. Number one, he reminds us the gospel, the death, the burial, the resurrection, that's the gospel. That's good news, yeah. Right there. Is priority. It's priority. He said, for I delivered you first of all, priority, that which I also receive. That Christ died, he was buried, and he rose again. And so when we're talking about the resurrection serves as a testimony of the gospel, it's a great testimony. It it is, it is the priority of the gospel. And and so when we talk about how important that is, and we talk about the priority of the gospel, we talk about the priority of the resurrection, yeah. And if if you fail to hold that priority and you allow anyone to shake your faith in that, then you're literally eroding what it means to be a Christian.

Prayer Invitation

SPEAKER_01 31:07

Wow. Every so often we do a podcast like this, and I know that there's listeners going, I'm really confused about what they're talking about. Right. But I want what they're talking about. And so I'm just gonna put a heartfelt plea that if you're listening to this right now and you you hear us talking about Easter, you hear us talking about a resurrection, and you go, okay, I see that you guys are are laying out that, like, okay, there's some truth. There's some things that I doubt it, but these these are true, and you guys are so convicted on this truth. I want that conviction that you guys have. I'm gonna put it out there for you. Please reach out, comment, contact us. Uh, we're gonna give you an opportunity. In fact, before we close this podcast, we're just gonna give you an opportunity to pray and receive Christ before Easter. And you can say, hey, that Thursday or Friday or whenever you listen to this podcast before Easter, man, I I I remember they did a prayer and I prayed that prayer, and I accepted Christ into my life because of the celebration of what the resurrection is really about. And so I can either let you leave them in a prayer or or however you want. Do you want to just like quickly say, hey, let's just take a moment in your heart, in your heart, just re repeat these words and and just just pray this prayer. Right.

SPEAKER_02 32:31

I think for for everybody to understand, Romans 3.10 tells us that there is none righteous, no, not one. Not one. And so if if they're thinking I'm okay, well, there's none righteous, no, not one. Not one. The the Romans 3.23 reminds us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And so that would be the first thing for them to understand. There is nothing righteous in me. Yeah. I may be a good person, humanly speaking. Compare to who? Okay. But I'm not righteous. I'm not what God would have me to be. Romans 6.23 reminds us that the wages of sin, what I've earned is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Now there's more information we could give them, and they can reach out. Even the links on this podcast can get them back to who we are. But yes, the the if they want to just pray a simple prayer, and and it's literally as simple as this, and and that is, dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I cannot save myself. I know that you came to this earth, you lived, you died, and you rose again, and you paid the price for my sins, a price I could not pay. I accept that gift of salvation and thank you for saving me. Amen. If they pray that prayer, believe that prayer, and then reach out, let us give them more information, understand more clearly of the decision they've made. If you're in our area, we'd love to see you at Crossroads on Easter. We've got three services, and we'd love to see you here. If you're not in our area, find a Bible-believing church, be there and share with someone. I made this decision and let them explain what is taking place.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Please do. I love that. I love that. Reality is, look, and I I know we we're talking about Easter, this once-a-year celebration. But the reality is we celebrate Easter every day in our day.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

Right. It's the priority of the gospel. We have to. Another thing, Easter reminds me of the reliability of the gospel. Paul said again in chapter 15, verse 1, which you also received in which you stand. That word stand is foundational. Okay. So this is where I'm at, and it's reliable. If you could look, I heard a guy say one time, and he he meant well, I get it, but he was so wrong. He said, even if you could prove to me the resurrection wasn't true, I'd believe in Christ. And I'm like, what would you believe? Well, what would you believe? Okay. It it makes no sense.

SPEAKER_01 35:15

Some people just say foolish things. Right. I I know what you're trying to get across, kind of, maybe, but that's a foolish statement. All the way. Resurrection is Christianity.

SPEAKER_02 35:25

That's why I believe. And that's where we're at. And then Easter reminds me that salvation is found in the message of the gospel.

SPEAKER_01 35:32

Yeah. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 35:33

Listen, he said in verse 2, by which you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. Yeah. All right. And so it it is the message of the gospel. And so what is that message? Again, verses three and four, for I delivered you first of all that which I received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. Yes. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Okay. And so what Paul is saying is everything that was written and prophesied happened. Before the New Testament. Before the New Testament. Let's just clear that. Oh, this wasn't written in the New Testament. No, this was written all before. And so he said it happened. It's everything that was said. And so when we understand that, then we know the reality of the gospel. And that's where we're at today. And so I just encourage people, as Easter's coming in, just celebrate it.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 36:30

And you know what? If you wanna, if you want to get a chocolate egg, that's that's fine. I love chocolate eggs. But that's not Easter. And we need to be clear about that. Even if you put peanut butter with it, it's still not. No, but I will take a chocolate bunny with peanut butter. That'd be a much better chocolate egg. And and but that's not Easter. That's not Easter. Easter is resurrection Sunday. Amen. The death, the burial, the resurrection. Amen. And so we need to hold on to that.

Celebrate Resurrection Day And Closing

SPEAKER_01 36:58

And I and I pray, I know we we were talking about non-believers out there listening to this, but I pray even for the Christians that are listening to this podcast, this year you go, whoa. I pray that this is a new revelation for you to truly be able to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior because that's what Easter, or as we call it, Resurrection Day, is about. So thank you very much. Don't leave him on the cross. Don't leave him in the grave. Amen. He's resurrected. Amen. Thank you so much. And guys, thank you once again for tuning into the Reality Is Podcast. We are here talking about real life, real faith, and real resurrection. Do us a favor, like, subscribe, share this with your friends, and click on that bell so you're always reminded of when the reality is will be coming out so you never miss an episode. For now, we'd like to say God bless you and have a wonderful day.

SPEAKER_00 37:54

The reality where real life meets real faith. The reality where real life meets real faith.